Saturday, November 22, 2014

If "location, location, location" is the mantra of real estate, "content, content, content" would be the equivalent for online dating. What a person says and how they say it, speak volumes about who they are and not just who they are trying to make you believe they are.

Some people are better at faking how kind or genuine they are. But with a little time, people eventually can't keep up the charade and their pretend self cracks revealing who they really are. Hopefully you find this out LONG before you ever meet in person.

Case in point: (click on the picture to enlarge it.)

It took a little while, but after a while, the "sweet guy" act fell by the wayside and he got angry and bitter in a hurry. I still have no idea what triggered it. Anyone have any theories?

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Facebook and Twitter are only two of the various social media sites that many people use daily. While they are still fairly new concepts that have quickly been integrated into our lifestyles, there is a lot of temptation to miss-use them. Chances are good you have been guilty of one of the Douchebag things to do on social media sites.

1.Verbally attack others.

With all the news, opinions, memes, video
clips and jokes passed around on social media sites it’s easy to find yourself
at odds with someone you may not even know, discussing something you both feel
strongly about. Religion, politics, scientific advancements, current events,
relationships and multitude of other hot button topics find their way onto a
person’s page, along with various family members, co-workers and friend’s
commentaries. This is where you find out how truly open minded and diplomatic
people are, or are not.

Regardless of how the conversation goes, it is
better to agree to disagree and debate as though you know your boss or someone
you want to respect you will later read. Name-calling, threats and making harsh
derogatory statements are not only immature and never helpful, you could open
yourself up to a potential lawsuit (say something liable),
risk of getting fired or having other people on social media retaliate. Be a
grown-up about your conversations. If you’re saying angry, hateful things you’ll
only dig yourself a hole while throwing all that dirt at someone else.

2.Emotionally dump.

We all have those days when it feels like
we’re being unfairly picked on by the universe and the weight of the world is
on our shoulders. Maybe you got some really bad news from your doctor, your vehicle
is in the shop for the twelfth time this month, your relationship is on the rocks,
your child publicly humiliated you AND your job really sucks. Tough as that
might all be, social media sites are NOT the place or way to decompress. No one
appreciates feeling like they’re getting your garbage can of unhappy feelings
and frustrated thoughts dumped on them when they log on to listen to music
parodies and watch cat videos. (We all know that’s what everyone is really
there for!)

Find a trusted confidant and share your bad
days with them. Spare everyone the trouble of un-following you because they’re
sick of hearing about your faulty carburetor, your domineering boss and unappreciative
in-laws.

3.Over-share.

Over-sharing is a lot like emotional
dumping. But instead of being a mental vomit of icky feelings and whiny
complaints, it’s more like giving play-by-plays of stuff that quite frankly no
one but your personal diary really cares to hear about. We’re talking long descriptions
of the infection you got in your blister, a breakdown of how having your gall
bladder removed now gives you spontaneous and oily poop, how that thing that
happened in your childhood has permanently caused you to have problems with every
relationship you’ve attempted, or how the barista screwed up your morning latte
and now your life is ruined.

We don’t need to see pictures of your food.
We don’t need to know you went to the gym, then the dry cleaners, then then
grocery store by way of your favorite car wash. We certainly don’t need to see
selfies of you at each location. We don’t care if you’re jumping on the isn’t-it-funny-my-socks-don’t-match
or I-just-discovered-if-I-don’t-shave-I’ll-grow-a-beard bandwagon or whatever
sheeple thing that everyone else is doing, since crowd following is apparently
the only thing you aspire to more than shocking people with your dull and
deeply intimate life details. STOP
already.

4.Demand attention.

We’ve all seen those annoying status
updates that all but scream “Not enough people are noticing me and liking my
stuff… TALK TO ME!!” You know the childish ones that insist you leave a comment
or say something nice about that person or they’ll un-friend you? It’s the
adult equivalent of standing at the top of the playground slide yelling over
and over to your parent: “Watch me! Watch me! See what I can do?” No one likes
that. No one respects or appreciates you more for crap that is tantamount to
emotional blackmail.

“Let’s see how many people are really
reading my page. Write one word in the comment section about how you feel about
me.” Or “Do you remember how we met? Tell me how and what you thought of me we
first met.” “If you could get away with it which one of these would you do? A.
Kiss me B. Sleep with me C. Slap me D. Tickle me. Blah, blah blah.” There are
so many of these things going around it’s a joke.

Are you honestly that insecure? And if you
are, why are you advertising that you have the backbone of a squid and
apparently the emotional maturity of a potato? Just don’t. Let us fool
ourselves into thinking we’re friends with or related to someone who doesn’t
need to demand attention online to feel like a worthwhile person. And for the record?
Yes, it would be C. I’d slap you. Hard.

5.Change your profile photo/ relationship status
daily.

Just more ways to demand attention or seek
the approval of others, constantly changing your profile pictures and updating
your relationship status are cheap and cheesy ploys. You don’t look much
different one day from the next. And if you are going to do something interesting
that means you’ll be sporting very different looks in a short period of time,
create a folder or album for them and upload them to there. This is the social
media version of constantly adding more crap to your front yard which went from
being “eclectic” and now could be mistaken for the city dump.

No one needs 38 profile picture changes a
month. That’s ridiculous. And even if you go from “single” to “in a
relationship” or “engaged” to “married” in two weeks, for the love of god, if
that all unravels in the next two weeks or two months, don’t make everyone in
your friend list have to watch that updated again but in rewind.

6.Baby / Pet Pride on Steroids

Children and pets are often a person’s
pride and joy. But then being a good parent or pet owner is your responsibility
and privilege. And while the people close to you are often curious to see how
your offspring are sizing up as they grow, they don’t need (or want) or know
absolutely everything. But there is a huge difference between posting pictures
for the typical birthdays, holidays and special events and going nuts with “My
angel is the most darling thing that ever lived on the face of the earth!”
updates. Getting on the honor roll in grade school doesn’t deserve a collage. Learning
to tie their shoes doesn’t need a poem written in your child’s honor. And your
puppy or kitten or cockatoo eating a treat doesn’t need a Youtube video.

There are literally thousands of pets and children
being promoted online for just being average. It’s awesome their parents think
the world of them, but let’s give attention online to the ones doing truly remarkable
things. Like dogs that can identify cancer, rats being trained to find land
mines and toddlers that can play complex songs on musical instruments. Your
child and pet are cute but they’re not so extraordinary that we need to take
time out of our own busy days to watch them doing normal, daily things. Let’s
keep things in perspective shall we?

7.Tattle on your loved ones.

Relationships
are tricky. People make mistakes and sometimes make bad choices. But don’t use
social media to tell everyone how they did something that offended you. Pretend
like you know what privacy means.

Here is hoping that you'll learn your lesson and cut it out before you make a terrible reputation for yourself!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Since my article about how to date inexpensively, it has been brought up that I should come up with a list of alternative dating ideas for people who have a little more disposable income to play with.

So, here you go:

Rent a Ride

Rent a limo for the day/night. Not just for
celebrities, prom and wedding related events, riding in a limo to your
schedules events adds some serious glamour to whatever else you end up doing.

Rent a yacht, and if your boating skills are not
exactly sea worthy, someone to drive the boat for you.

Rent

Take a Ride

If you want to give your date a new vantage
point, take a ride in a hot air balloon. Remember to pack some sparkling bubbly
and your camera.

Trains offer a view of landscape you won’t see
from your car and an overnight trip on a train could seriously jumpstart some
romance in your life.

Small engine planes are the epitome of luxury.
Not much says you’re special and someone important than taking a ride in a
small plane, especially when it’s on its way somewhere beautiful with
reservations.

Stay Somewhere Luxurious

Make a hotel reservation somewhere you've never been or even in your own city. Get the honeymoon suite and enjoy the jacuzzi and room service.

Bed & Breakfasts can be a lovely alternative to staying in a hotel. They have a very homey feeling and some offer some really nice amenities.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Why do some people enjoy scary movies and others don't?
Is there a difference between being brave and enjoying gore? Exploring a few ideas about what makes a person tough and what is just personal preference.